watercolor painting Archives - Page 9 of 19

Found: Some Time to Paint

Winter Nest ©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
10×14 Watercolor on Arches paper

With not much time to give to painting, I stole about 45 minutes from a busy day to paint this still life again. It’s already out and available so it was a no brainer to just go to it. Yes, this one took a little longer to complete.

The method of painting quickly that I’ve managed to work out is keeping me in the game. The least amount of water possible doesn’t saturate the paper allowing me to move on to another area of the work while the just painted area dries. Once dried I go back and add details. The pace moves fairly quickly.

Christmas is fast approaching and there are things that must get done. Painting is one of the things that just may not happen again for a little while. So the fact that I was able to squeeze it in is a big deal.

Photo for Friday – Time for a Small Watercolor Painting

Winter Cardinal ©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
8×10 Watercolor on Arches paper

No time to yap, I have shopping to do! No time to paint either, but I did find twenty minutes to paint this holiday type of still life. I was determined to get something, anything on paper this week. Next week is another story.

Do you see my little friends in this painting? I’m talking about my friends the apple and the beach shell. Just had to pop them in someplace here.

Happy shopping time now!

Painting a Garden Gate

Garden Gate 7×10 Watercolor on Canson paper
©2000 Dora Sislian Themelis

The post I planned for today was thrown out of the water when I awoke to find out a watercolor landscape painting in my Etsy shop sold over the weekend. Allow me to bask in my glory for a moment.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure I would even get to paint on the latest work during the last few days. There was so much going on besides the usual running around. I’ve decided to change the color of the foyer of my house, and when is that going to happen? Why do I do these last minute things?

Anyway, I’ll tell you what I did to the latest painting tomorrow. Right now I have a SALE! Yay for me!

In the beginning of my watercolor journey, after the horrible intro to watercolor class a while back, I was determined to push myself to learn. The paints I was using were student grade, and the paper wasn’t much better. Besides, it was all new to me. What did I learn at that class? Nothing. Imagine my guts, taking myself to paint in watercolors en plein air? What was I thinking?

Well, I did ok. Watercolor painting is difficult enough and I had to be outside with it.

Near the end of that summer, I took my kids to Old Westbury Gardens and Mansion near my area. It’s a beautiful Gold Coast of Long Island, NY mansion and formal gardens. The gardens alone are breath taking in size and variety of flowers. The house is so large I could put my house inside the living room.

The weather that day was beautiful and we really enjoyed roaming around. While my guys looked around the garden I sat in a spot by this garden wall with it’s intricate wrought iron gate and tried to sketch the scene. I was pleasantly surprised to find I liked the outcome of this. At the time I really wanted to push myself to paint more, what did I know about process?

A few paintings are in the Etsy shop I have, along with the bead jewelry I make and some small knitted items. Etsy may not be the right venue for fine artwork, but until I get myself together with my own website, some items have a home there. Imagine my surprise when I saw a notice that I had a sale.

It’s a small work, but it will make another someone happy. I’m already thrilled, once more.

To Beat Resistance: The Timer Is My Friend

Here is the last of the sunflower photographs I took during the vegetable share season. It’s kind of Vincent van Gogh-ish. When I get a chance to buy larger watercolor paper I will be painting from this photo. Did you see I said “when.” And “when” will that be?

I could see these sunflowers in oils, too. The oil paints have sat for so long I can’t even think about getting them out and painting with them. Yeah, I know, I need a bit of time to look them over, set them up around the palette, but then there’s the medium to deal with, a large enough canvas to work on. These are the distractions that stop me in my tracks.

Maybe I will do a small and quick twenty minute watercolor? Well, let’s see where it goes.

These are the things I grapple with during my day. The road blocks are my own. Mr. Resistance can wreak havoc on plans.

Watercolor paints are so easy to get out, paint, clean up, and put away. The oils are out, the painting sits wet for days, the air needs to be well ventilated because of the chemicals in the paints and the medium. Unless I sketch quick with plenty of turpentine so the paints dry faster, this could take time.

Do people still use turpentine any more? That’s how long I haven’t painted in oils, don’t tell on me.

Am I making excuses not to paint at all? Gee, let’s see: no watercolor paper large enough, the oils are a pain, I might not have enough time to paint. Sound familiar? Resistance is stepping out into view here.

Now we are on the verge of December, and all that comes with the holidays. How can painting be a priority if there are so many other things to get done?

The thought running through my head right now is this: The timer is my friend. The timer is my friend.

The Shell Has Company!

Shell Has Company 7×10 Watercolor on Arches paper
©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis

Isn’t it nice that my beach shell has found itself in another painting with company? I don’t know what it is about that shell that I seem to paint it so often.

Maybe it reminds me of the day at the beach when I found it? Maybe it’s because of the little bit of seaweed that clings to the underside? Is it because it’s cracked?

Then there’s the apple. I’m intrigued by the different colors I find in every apple I paint. The veggie share gave me this pumpkin-type thing. I like the color of it.

Whatever pulls me, I must oblige.

I had planned to paint this still life set up larger, but guess what? No paper! The small Arches block I was saving to take with me on painting excursions was ready and waiting, so that’s what I used instead. A trip to the art supply store will have to happen sooner rather than later.

Twenty minutes of painting this and I was finished. Damp brush, not a lot of water, and sketching is possible. I used two brushes, a medium large round and a small outline type brush, to paint with. We all have many different brushes, but lately it’s been these two. Funny how we can pare down to get the most out of a minimum of items to work with.

It’s like having a closet full of clothes, and I only wear the same ten or so items all the time.

The same thing with painting. All the colors on the palette and I keep using the same five colors, and these two brushes.

Anyway, I painted. It’s a reason to cheer! Except I won’t because I never know when Mr. Resistance will turn the corner. Shhhhhh.

Painting Photo for Friday

Cooper’s Farm ©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
14×20 Watercolor

Finished another watercolor painting! I am on a roll. Actually, I just wanted this one done with. When I am ready for something else I get antsy to finish and continue. Not like other times when I don’t even touch the paints. No, I am trying to behave and keep working.

For each painting session I was still using twenty minute segments, letting the work dry in between. And here I am painting from photographs, too. There was a time I just couldn’t do that. The subject had to be live. But the blue tractor was adorable, and I liked the scenery. So there you go.

Now I’m over it.

Painting is Electric Energy

Another day, another painting start

What is it about painting that gets the electricity going? If I could feel like I did after starting this latest watercolor, I would bottle it and drink it every day to keep that momentum going. It is so weird.

After pulling the peach at the beach painting off the watercolor block, I hunted around for the next subject. It could take forever if I didn’t start something new immediately, and then I’d be arguing with Mr. Resistance again. You know he’d win, too, right?

Remembering the vacation we took a couple of summers ago out on the east end of Long Island, and some of the great photos I took there, I hunted them up yesterday. Of course, I had a different computer then, which crashed. The photos are in it. No worries, I looked for them here on the blog and started in.

It’s a nice, calm scene at Cooper’s Farm. I like the tractor. Okay. Something about painting just gave me a jolt that lasted into the evening. I kept thinking about it, and planning my next session wishing I could paint again at around 11PM last night. I mean, I could, but people are around and the painting is sitting in the dining room, not the studio.

Whatever. The feeling is still with me now as I write this. Today is an outside, running around day, so painting will have to wait until I return.

Funny how I decided I needed to try to work from photos rather than life, and now that’s all I’m doing. Is it like I’m on a kick or what? Also funny that I have a couple of different gourds from the vegetable share and I completely forgot about painting them. Totally out of my head.

Maybe I will have to also break with my tradition of working on one painting at a time to go ahead and paint those gourds on another block of paper? Ya think? Gee, what a concept!

Sometimes I knock myself out. Whack.

Don’t Prolong the Process

If I continue painting on this work I am going to trash it! I am done, done, done! Finished! Telios! C’est Finis! This was the end of the road for the peach at the beach.

I worked on this for the allotted twenty minutes today, let it dry, then started to dig in with some details. What a mistake that was. There is just so much I could do to show these items were sitting on the sand. How do you really make sand look like sand? It isn’t easy, and things could get dicey. Again.

I am done with this! Yeah!

Using a really small brush, I began to paint in some dark shadows in the sand and that’s where the trouble started. I had to stop myself before ruining this painting.

Overall, the result of the process came off as I wanted it to. The peach pops, as well as the shells. Eh, the sand shadows are passable. It just had to be over. I didn’t want to prolong the torture any longer.

As soon as this is completely dry I am going to free it from the watercolor block and put it away. #37 in the 100 paintings challenge is finished.

Next!